Sea Best Invitational: Texas A&M, Castillo win at Sawgrass

February 4, 2020 | by

- Texas A&M photo

The Aggies hold off Florida to kick off the spring season, while Gator teammates Ricky Castillo and John Axelsen go 1-2

The Texas A&M men's golf team opened the 2020 portion of its schedule with an impressive victory at the Sea Best Invitational, which concluded on Tuesday at the TPC at Sawgrass – Dye's Valley Course.

After tallying four top five finishes last fall, the No. 12 Aggies tallied their first team victory of the season with a two-stroke victory over runner-up Florida. Texas A&M carded a final round 6-under par 274, which was the low round of the day, to hold off the Gators and finish the tournament at 13-under par (281-272-274=827). The Aggies and Gators were the only two teams in the field to be under par for the tournament.

"This was probably one of the best team wins I've ever been a part of," Aggie head coach J.T. Higgins said. "To see all five guys finish in the top 20 is pretty impressive and the worst round we had was a 72. They competed so hard and they pushed each other through the tournament. It was a total team effort."

Four Aggies posted under-par rounds on Tuesday to get the Aggies to 6-under for the day with senior Dan Erickson and junior Walker Lee leading the way with 2-under 68s. Also under par were sophomore Sam Bennett and freshman Jimmy Lee with 1-under 69s. The Aggies separated from the Gators on the back nine when Erickson and Walker Lee combined to tally eight birdies in a five-hole span on holes 12-16.

Big day on the links for @RickykCastillo as he captured his first collegiate title and the Gators took home second at the Sea Best Invitational 🐊🐊

Final Round Recap » https://t.co/PtzKW852VN #GoGators
— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) February 4, 2020

On the individual leaderboard, Florida freshman Ricky Castillo captured his first collegiate title by three shots over teammate John Axelsen.

Castillo was flawless from the jump despite the imminent pressure from the field all day. The freshman carded a clean 5-under 65 through the final round, securing a first-place finish at 9 under overall. Castillo's 65 is also a new career low.

Axelsen took second place individually behind another steady performance. The Denmark native sunk six birdies through his final 18 holes, signing a 2 under on the day to end with a 5 under total. Axelsen's runner-up performance marks his third top-10 finish of the season and seventh of his career.

- Thanks to Texas A&M and Florida men's golf for this report.

Results: Sea Best Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Ricky Castillo	Yorba Linda, CA	600	70-67-65=202
2	John Axelsen	, Denmark	400	68-69-68=205
T3	Walker Lee	Houston, TX	300	70-68-68=206
T3	Reid Bedell	Fair Haven, NJ	300	69-66-71=206
T3	William Paysse	Belton, TX	300	71-63-72=206

View full results for Sea Best Invitational

About the Sea Best Invitational

Sea Best Invitational: Texas A&M, Castillo win at Sawgrass

54-hole men's college tournament hosted by the University of Jacksonville at Atlantic Beach CC. Team (best four out of five players each round) and individual competitions.